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The Australian and international news stories you need to know today, Friday July 30.

Leaders to chart course to reopen Australian in national cabinet.

Australia's leaders will start charting a course to fully reopening the nation based on new coronavirus vaccination rate modelling.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will on Friday chair a national cabinet meeting of state premiers and territory chief ministers.

Leaders will be presented with Doherty Institute modelling which calculates immunisation coverage needed to avoid lockdowns and restart international travel. The modelling has not been made public.

Mr Morrison has tempered expectations of a concrete outcome like setting a "Freedom Day" similar to the United Kingdom's widespread dropping of restrictions.

"You don't just pick a day and, you know, get some fireworks," he told 3AW.

"That's not science. It's not medicine. It's not policy."

The prime minister said the infectious disease modelling would be considered alongside Treasury's economic advice to inform the path out of restrictions.

He remains confident a vaccination rate will be determined at some stage.

About 17.7 per cent of people aged 16 and over have received both doses of a coronavirus vaccine with a record 201,470 shots administered in the past 24 hours.

National cabinet will also receive an update on virus data, vaccine rollout and the code for truckies to move around the country.

Military deployed in Sydney following record high COVID daily number.

The military and police officers will enter the areas worst hit by Sydney's virus outbreak to ensure two million residents are complying with harsh lockdown restrictions.

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But people shouldn't be intimidated by the presence of 300 Australian Defence Force personnel in the streets of western and southwest Sydney, Defence Minister Peter Dutton says.

"I want it to be a message of reassurance that they are helping NSW Police," he told Sydney radio 2GB on Friday.

"We can get ourselves through COVID even more quickly if we've got the defence force personnel there helping." 

The ADF members will begin deploying on Friday to train over the weekend before commencing working under the direction of NSW Police on Monday.

Police will be able to shut down businesses that repeatedly breach public health orders.

"We know home-to-home transmission is a huge issue for us, we know people are bringing it home from worksites that aren't complying," NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said.

But he stopped short of "random" checks in home, saying police would monitor close contacts and had the power to stop people in public and seek their address.

Up to 55 per cent of the 588 cases reported in the past three days have been infectious while in the community.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian acknowledged the number of local cases would get worse in the coming days, given the high number of people infectious while in the community.

"We can only assume that things are likely to get worse before they get better," the premier said on Thursday.

Two million people in eight western Sydney local government areas cannot leave the area unless they are essential workers.

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Ms Berejiklian tightened restrictions further on Thursday, saying she had accepted police advice to subject the virus-hit LGAs to harsher compliance measures.

Masks will be mandatory at all times - including outdoors - and people will be restricted to within five kilometres of their home.

Brisbane high school closed after positive case.

Indooroopilly State High School, in Brisbane's west, will be closed for 48 hours after a student tested positive to COVID-19.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she understood the 17-year-old student had tested positive for the virus and further tests were being done to ensure it was not a false positive.

"We'll be double checking that it’s not a false positive," she told ABC Radio Brisbane on Friday morning.

"We are told there is no association with any international travel.

"It was very swift action from the Department of Education to close that school."

Chief Health Minister Jeanette Young said she was concerned as the source of infection was a mystery.

The student became unwell yesterday and her family members are being tested. She's been in the community for three days and at school for two days.

The school has almost 2,500 students and the acting principal shared the news in an email to parents overnight.

It will close for 48 hours for contact tracing and a deep clean.

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Vic mystery case linked to latest outbreak.

Victorian health authorities have managed to link a mystery case of COVID-19 to current outbreaks in the state.

But they are still trying to discover how the man, who was working as a traffic controller at the Moonee Valley drive-through testing site, managed to catch the virus.

He tested positive on Wednesday, two days after developing symptoms, and his close contacts have so far tested negative.

On Thursday, Victoria's acting Chief Health Officer Ben Cowie warned authorities "may not find the smoking gun" of how he caught the virus.

It's believed the man had not been vaccinated despite being eligible as a frontline worker.

The state recorded seven local cases on Thursday, of which six have been in isolation while infectious.

Authorities are also urging people in Balwyn, Camberwell, Canterbury, Mont Albert and Surrey Hills to get tested if they have even mild symptoms, after wastewater testing in the area showed virus fragments.

There are 205 active cases in Victoria.

SA wary after new COVID-19 cases reported.

South Australians have been urged to complete any quarantine periods and follow COVID-19 restrictions to ensure no flare-up in a local cluster of virus cases.

SA reported two new infections on Thursday, 10 days after their first case was discovered.

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Both were already in hotel quarantine when they became infectious, posing no threat to the wider community.

But Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier says the new cases show that people can still become ill and emphasised the need for everyone in directed home quarantine to complete the full 14 days.

"Even at this late stage, it is still possible for people to become positive," she said.

"You can be highly infectious, even if you haven't had any symptoms yourself."

The latest cases take the current outbreak to 21 since it first emerged on July 19.

Fox holds nerve to makes Olympic history.

After winning three Olympic medals and none of them gold, so much was riding on the C1 for Australia's canoe slalom star Jessica Fox.

A four-time world champion in the C1, her favoured event was included in the Olympic program for the first time, giving Fox the chance to make Games history.

Having started the K1 as a huge favourite and crossed for bronze due to a late error on course, this time three-time Olympian Fox wouldn't be denied, finishing 3.64 seconds clear of Britain's Mallory Franklin with Germany's reigning world champion Andrea Herzog taking bronze.

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Fox said she was thrilled to achieve her dream after the crushing disappointment in the K1.

"To come back after that was extremely hard, it was emotionally and mentally taxing. I'm so proud I was able to pull that run out," Fox told AAP.

"I was dreaming of it. I really believed it was all within me, that I could do it."

Fox had long advocated for the race's inclusion on the Tokyo program, giving the sport gender parity.

"I'm so proud to be in women's C1 category and of all the women who have raced here and been part of this moment," the Sydneysider said. 

"I'm grateful to everyone who lobbied for gender equality and to have us here in this moment."

McKeon eyes more gold for Australia as Tokyo games near halfway point.

Swimmer Emma McKeon is on the verge of becoming another Australia double gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympics.

McKeon enters Friday's 100m freestyle final as hot favourite to win her fourth medal of the Games.

Already with gold from the 4x100m freestyle relay and bronzes in the 100m butterfly and 4x200m freestyle relay, McKeon was the quickest into the 100 free heat.

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Her long-time teammate Cate Campbell was third quickest - she also could join countrywoman Ariarne Titmus as a dual gold medallist with victory.

In other action as Australia seeks to add to its eight golds, two silvers and 10 bronze medals, Lucien Delfour is a big chance in the men's K1 canoe.

He qualified third-fastest for Friday's semi-finals, with the medal race to follow.

The track and field program starts on Friday and 11 Australians are in action.

Matthew Denny is aiming for a big start in the discus and is an outside medal hope.

The only athletics medal event on Friday will be the men's 10,000m, where Ugandan world record holder Joshua Cheptegei is the short-priced favourite to complete the first leg of a prospective 10,000m-5000m double.

Ash Barty and John Peers face Russian pair Andrey Rublev and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the tournament's No.4 seeds, in the mixed doubles semi-finals.

The men's and women's eights will try to add to the rich Australian rowing medal haul in Tokyo on the last day of the Games regatta.

The Matildas face Great Britain in a blockbuster women's soccer quarter-final.

The women's rugby sevens team is coming off two wins when it plays the United States, ahead of the quarter-finals, while the unbeaten Kookaburras face Spain in men's hockey and the Stingers take on Spain in women's water polo. 

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BMX racers Saya Sakakibara and Lauren Reynolds are through to the semi-finals, with the medals also to be decided on Friday.

Jessica Pickering is the Australian entry in the women's trampoline.

Qld principal faces child abuse charges.

A school principal has been charged with making child exploitation material and other offences after searches of two properties in regional Queensland.

Police seized a laptop and a mobile device alleged to contain child exploitation material during searches at properties in the Townsville suburbs of Kirwan and Balgal Beach.

Investigations are underway to determine the identity of the females depicted in the material and whether they're linked to the man.

The 47-year-old has been charged with eight counts of using a carriage service to access child abuse material and three counts each of making child exploitation material and possessing child exploitation material.

He was recently stood down from his position at a school in the Mundingburra area, Queensland Police advised.

Bail was refused and he will appear in the Townsville Magistrates Court on Friday.

If this post brings up any issues for you, you can contact Bravehearts (an organisation providing support to victims of child abuse) here.

If you are concerned about the welfare of a child you can get advice from the Child Abuse Protection Hotline by calling 1800 688 009, or visiting their website. You can also call the 24-hour Child Abuse Report Line (131 478).

Speak up about human trafficking: Home Affairs minister.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has urged people to speak up about human trafficking in Australia, saying authorities have the criminals responsible in their sights.

"Sadly, young women and children are the most vulnerable to being trafficked – but help is available, and the Australian Federal Police have had several notable successes freeing victims and bringing offenders to justice," she said.

Friday marks World Day Against Trafficking in Persons and the federal government has said in a statement that it has had "another successful year of combating this despicable crime".

The AFP said in March that they had found a 26-year-old Indonesian woman in Sydney who had been held against her will and was subjected to forced labour for nearly six years, with authorities confiscating two properties of the perpetrators in response.

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In January, a 29-year-old NSW man was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment for forcing a woman and her child to travel to India - the first Australian conviction for an "exit human trafficking offence".

"Human trafficking is not often discussed or even considered to be an issue in Australian society," AFP Commander Hilda Sirec said following the conviction.

"It is often unreported but the reality is that Australia is not immune to human trafficking and victims in our communities are suffering in silence."

Ms Andrews said Australia would continue to bring charges against people smugglers and human traffickers.

"Today, my message is simple: raise your voice on this important issue, educate yourself and others about this serious crime and the impact it has on victims, and ask for help if you need it," Ms Andrews said.

Around the world.

- Olympics organisers Thursday announced 24 new coronavirus cases related to the Tokyo Games in their daily report, the highest daily increase of cases linked to the Games since organisers began reporting cases on July 1.

A total of 20 athletes have been infected so far.

- US President Joe Biden is calling for state, local and US territorial governments to provide $US100 (AU$135) payments for every newly vaccinated person to boost COVID-19 inoculation rates, the US Treasury Department says.

- Israeli officials say people aged over 60 will be offered a third coronavirus booster jab as part of a world first in efforts to slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

-With AAP.

Feature image: Getty.

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